February Is National Potato Lovers Month Sometimes it’s just plain fun to play with our food. Smashed potatoes are the perfect example. Make lots because they will disappear fast! Smashed Lemon Herb Crispy Potatoes Fill a large stock pot with lightly salted water. Bring water to a boil. Place small Yukon or Red Skin Potatoes…

Today is National Margarita Day ~ February 22, 2018. Please keep reading to get my favorite margarita recipe ~ Pink Champagne Lemonade Margaritas! But first…let’s talk about another one of my favorites…pink peppercorns and other funky color seasonings… Love Salt and Pepper! Fun facts about Pink Peppercorns: Always good to have pink peppercorns on hand…

Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne. A lovely sparkly to begin our weekend before we delved into the serious business of eating pizza. Just a kiss of pink color in this rosé bubbly. Notes of tangerine and red berry fruits. $47 range. National Pizza Day was on Friday, February 9, 2018 so that…

I was writing an e-mail this morning (entering a recipe contest) and our landline phone rang, so I got up to answer it in the other room. When I returned to the computer this is what I found on the screen: eeeeeeeeeeeeeee521111111111111111111111111111110pppppppppppppppppppppppppppp——————————————————————–jmn And this is what was sitting on my computer chair: Apparently Ziggy the…

January 15, 2018 is National Freshly Squeezed Juice Day. My favorite juice this time of year is Blood Orange Juice. Blood Oranges are in season (December through March). Blood orange juice brightens up even the most dreary winter day with it’s POP! of red-orange color. Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail For each cocktail: 2 ounces fresh…

Fresh Strawberries Filled With Frangelico And Cream Easy and fun to make and eat! Choose large juicy strawberries for this delicious dessert. Cut bottoms off of fresh strawberries so they will sit upright on a plate. Cap the strawberries. Using the small end of a melon baller, scoop some of the pulp out of the…

“People who love to eat are always the best people”… Julia Child knew that food brings people together in the best way possible. Now we have a new fun and delicious way to bring people together in Roanoke, Virginia. Tour Roanoke recently announced that they will add A Taste Of Naples at Fortunato in Roanoke,…

Fresh Pear Bellini Garnished With Creme de Cassis Blueberries For the Cassis Blueberries: Make the frozen Cassis blueberries the night before so they have time to marinate and freeze. 1/2 cup Creme de Cassis 1/4 cup caster (very fine) sugar plus a little sugar for sprinkling on finished berries 6 ounces fresh blueberries Place blueberries…

Bacon and Balsamic Deviled Eggs Follow this easy recipe (originally published in The Roanoke Times ~ Gretchen Mckay Pittsburg Post Gazette – TNS) to make the most delicious Deviled Eggs… Bacon and Balsamic Deviled Eggs 12 hard-cooked eggs The original recipe called for 1/2 of the amounts of the following ingredients. I doubled the amounts…